Rotary cut-off mechanism



A. W. PLATT Dec. 15, 1931.

ROTARY CUT OFF MEGHANI SM Filed April 21, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet gwuenlcw MPZcuft Dec. 15, 1931. A. w. PLATT ROTARY CUT-OFF MECHANISM Filed April 21. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet k I E Patentecl bec. 15, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ARCHIE W. PLATT, OF TOLEEDO, OHIO, ASSIGN'OR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO LIBBEY- I OWENS-FORD GLASS C'OMIANY, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, A. CORPORATION OF OHIO ROTARY CUT-OF Application filed April :21,

This invention relates to a rotary cut-01f mechanism which has been devised particularly with reference to its use in cutting sheet glass while hot,for other materials of similar nature, whether the same is formed in sheets or in a continuous strip.

In making sheet glass, as it passes from the rolls, it is fed upon a traveling table or truck, preparatory to delivering it to an annealing oven. The object of the invention is to provide improved means adapted to cooperate with the traveling table or truck for cutting the sheets to the desired length. -In the preferred form of the invention, the knife is carried by a member which is intermittently rotated through the medium of a lug or a projection carried by the table, and the knife as it reaches the lower part of its path, is projected into shearing contact with the edge of the table. 6

The invention consists further in various details of construction and combinations of elements, the objects and advantages of which will be more particularly explained in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating one embodiment of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the invention as used in cutting sheet glass. Fig. 2 is a similar view with parts broken away and showing the knife in cutting position. Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken longitudinally of the shaft about which the cutting device rotates. Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3. Fig. .5 is a sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 66 of Fig. 3.

The invention is illustrated in connection with a portion of a machine for rolling sheet glass. This machine comprises rolls 1 between which the plastic glass is ressed into a sheet 2, which is fed over a ownwardly inclined surface 3' to a traveling table 4. There is a continuous succession of these traveling tables, each supported by wheels 5 upon tracks 6. f

For supporting the rotary cut-off mechanism in proper relation to the traveling tables, there is arranged at each side thereof a suit- F/MECHANISM 1927. Serial No. 185,392.

able bracket 7 mounted upon a base 8. A shaft 9 is supported by the brackets 7 and is secured against rotation by set screws 10 or similar means. A series of discs 11 are rotatably-mounted upon the shaft 9 and are held in spaced relation to each other by a plurality of spacing bars 12 having flanges 13 secured to the respective discs. The outer faces 14 of these bars all form parts of a single cylindrical surface described about the shaft 9 as an axis. One or more of the bars 1 1 are divided longitudinally into two sections by slots 15 which form guideways for radially disposed knife blades 16. Any number of bars 12 and any number of knife blades may be used.

Each knife blade 16 extends from end to end of the cylinder, or from side to side of the table 4, and is supported by a plurality of ears 17 which are pivot-ally mounted on pins 18 projecting from levers19. Each lever 19 has a boss 20 at one side which is mounted for rockingmovement on a pin 21 extending from the adjacent disc 11 and constituting a fulcrum for the lever. The end of the lever 19 is connected by a pin 22 to one end of a link 23, the other end of the'link being connected by a pin 24 to a lever 25 which is fulcrumed on a pin 21. The intermediate portion of the lever 25 carries a. pin 26 on which a roller 27 is mounted. A contractile coil spring 28 connects the fulcrum of the lever 25 with a threaded pin 29, which extends through a hole 30 in the rear end of the lever '19, and is provided with adjustable lock nuts 31, so that through the medium of lever 19 and link 23 it may hold the lever 25 with roller 27 bearing against the collar 32, which is keyed to the shaft 9 and therefore held in fixed position while the discs rotate.

In the present construction, two knife blades 16 are supported in diametrically opposite positions, and the levers 19 for one knife blade are mounted on the same pins 21 but at opposite sides of the discs 11 from the levers 25 which are connected with the other knife blade.

Each collar 32 has a cam 33 secured thereto and adapted to be engaged by the roller 27 as the disc 11 rotates with the levers, thereby projecting the corresponding knife blade 16.

The several cams 33 are so located that each knife will be projected from the slot 15 as it reaches the lowest point in its revolution.

The c linders formed by the bars 12 supported by the discs 11 are intermittently rotated through arcs of 90 each through the medium of wheels 34 mounted at opposite ends of the cylinder. Each wheel 34 may be secured to the adjacent disc 11 by the same bolts 35 which secure the disc to the flanges 13 of the bars 12. Each wheel carries four pins 36 equally spaced and on these pins are mounted radially extendin fingers 37. Each finger 37 is normally hel against an abutment 38 by a small coil spring 39 acting between an ear 40 on the wheel and a boss 41 on the fin er.

Each ta le 4 is provided at its edge with a numberof lugs 42. In the present construction there are two lugs on each side edge of the table. Each lug is pivoted on a pin 43 and yieldably held by a spring 44 connected with an car 45 which projects from the table. It will be seen, therefore, that as the table travels toward the left as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2, a lug 42 will engage one of the fingers 37 and will move the cylinder through an angle of 90. The next lug 42 will move the cylinder through another angle of 90. Thus two successive lugs will move one knife 16 V from its lowermost to its uppermost position and will move the other knife from its uppermost to its lowermost position. The lugs are so located that the cylinder will move at the proper time to cause the knife to effect a shearing engagement with the edge of the table, as shown at 46 in Fig.2, and this will insure a. smooth and even out.

Each knife has notches 47 in its rear edge which cooperate with notches 48 in the peripheries of the discs 11 to guide the knife as it moves out and in. The edges of the slotted bars 12 also assist in guiding the knives.

In order that there may be no chance of the cylinders and knives moving except when impelled by the engagement of the lugs 42 with the fingers 37, each wheel 34 is provided with a brake band 49 and the rim of the wheel is provided with a groove 50 for receiving the same. For supporting the brake band, a shaft 51 is rotatably supported in front of the cylinder b the brackets 7, and is provided at each en with an car 52, to which one end of the corresponding brake band 49 is connected. The other end of the brake band has a threaded pin 53 connected thereto and ex tending through an ear 54 also secured to the shaft 51. The effective length of the brake band may be adjusted by means of a nut 55 on the pin 53. A comparatively long arm 56 extends from the shaft 51 and is provided lwiltlltli a weight 57 for tensioning the brake From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided a rotary cut-off mechanism which will cooperate with the table to effect a smooth and even cut across the sheet of material carried by the table. While the mechanism has been particularly designed for cutting sheet glass during its manufacture, it may, of course, be used in cutting other sheet materials of a similar nature. It is well adapted to be used with the continuous process of rolling sheets of glass. While I have shown and described the construction of the invention in considerable detail it will be understood that this is merely by way of illustration, and that many modifications may be made therein without any material departure from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

What I claim is:

1. A cutting device comprising a rotatable member, a knife guided for movement radially with respect to said member, a series of s eed increasing levers carried by said mem er and connected to the knife for controlling the movement thereof, means for rotating said member, and means operable through said levers to project said knife by a comparatively quick movement away from the axis of said member as the knife approaches the lower part of its orbit.

2. A cutting device comprising a rotatable member, a knife guided for movement radially with respect to said member, a series of levers carried by said member and connected to the knife for controlling the movement thereof, means for rotating said member, and stationary means cooperating with said levers as they revolve with said member to actuate the series of levers and thereby project the knife away from the axis of said member by a comparatively quick move ment as the knife approaches the lowest part of its orbit.

3. A cutting device comprising a rotatable member, a knife disposed with its edge parallel to the axis of said member and guided for movement radially with respect to said member, a series of levers carried by said member and connected to the knife for controlling the movement thereof, means for intermittently rotating said member, and a stationary cam cooperating with said levers, as they revolve with said member, to actuate the series of levers and thereby move said knife radially away from the axis of said member. by a comparatively quick movement as the knife approaches the lower part of its orbit. Y

4. A cutting device comprising a rotatable member, knives guided for movement radially with respect to said member, a system of levers carried b said member, and made up of a number 0 like units, there being one unit for each knife, each of said units including two levers fulcrumed on said rotatable member and disposed on Opposite sides of its axis, a link connecting said two levers, means for rotating said member, a fixed cam between said two levers, one of said two levers being secured to the knife and the other being actuated by the cam, as the levers revolve with the rotatable member, to project said knife away from the axis of said member by a comparatively quick movement as the knife approaches the lowest part of its orbit.

5. A cutting device comprising a. rotatable member, a system of levers carried by said member and made up of a number of like units, each of said units including a third class lever fulcrumed on said member, and disposed on one side of the axis thereof, a first class lever fulcrumed on said member and disposed on the other side of the axis thereof, and a link connecting the free end of said third class lever to the power end of said first class lever, a knife secured to the work end of said first class lever, and a stationary cam between said two levers and engageable by the third class lever at a point between the link connection and the fulcrum thereof, upon rotation of said rotatable member, to project the knife away from the axis of said rotatable member by a comparatively quick movement as the.

knife approaches the lowest part of its orbit.

6. In a sheet cutting mechanism, the combination of a rotary cylindrical member, a knife supported by said member and guided for rectilinear movement radially with respect thereto, a traveling table upon which the sheet is carried beneath said member and substantially tangential to the same, radial arms mounted directly on the ends of said cylindrical member, abutments carried by the table and engageable with said radial arms for intermittently causing the cylindrical member to rotate with the knife in synchronism with the travel of the table, and means for projecting said knife outwardly from the cylindrical member into shearing engagement with the table.

7. In a sheet cutting mechanism, the combination of a rotatable member, a knife carried thereby and guided for rectilinear movement radially with respect thereto, a traveling table on which the sheet is carried beneath said member and substantially tangentialto the same, radial arms mounted directly on the ends of the rotatable member and projecting beyond its periphery in planes outside of the edges of the table, abutments on the edges of the table and engageable with said radial arms to cause the rotatable member to rotate intermittently with'a peripheral speed substantially equal to the speed of travel of said table, and means actuated by the rotation of said member to project said knife outwardly into severing relation to a sheet carried by the table.

means for guiding said knife for movement in a radial lane with respect to said rotatable mem er, means actuated by the rotation of said member to project said knife outwardly into severing relation to a sheet carried by the table, a brake for said rotary member, and means yieldably holding the brake in engagement with said member to prevent rotation of the same unless it is positively actuated.

9.- In a sheet cutting mechanism, the combination of a traveling table, a shaft nonrotatably held in fixed position above the path of the table, amember rotatably supported on the shaft, a knife carried by said member and guided for movement in a radial plane with respect thereto, radial arms mounted directly on the ends of said rotatable member, abutments carried by the table and engageable with said radial arms to intermittently rotate said member with a peripheral speed substantially equal to the speed of travel of said table, and coengaging means on said shaft and said member respectively to project said knife outwardly into severing relation to a sheet carried by the table.

10. In a sheet cutting mechanism, the combination of a traveling table, a shaft nonrotatably held in fixed position above the path of thetable, a member rotatably sup ported on the shaft, a knife carried by said member and guided for movement in a radial plane with respect thereto, radial arms mounted directly on the ends of said rotatable member, abutments carried by the table and engageable with said radial arms to intermittently rotate said member in synchronism with the travel of said table, coenga'ging means on said shaft and said member respectively to project said knife outwardly into severing relation to a sheet carried by the table, a brake for said rotatable member, and means yieldably holding the brake in engagement with said member to prevent rotation of the same unless it is positively actuated.

11. In a sheet cutting mechanism, the combination of a traveling table, a rotatable member supported above the path of the table, radial arms mounted directly on the ends of said rotatable member, abutments carried by the table and engageable with said radial arms for causing the rotation of said member in synchronous relation to the movement of the'table, a knife guided for rectilinear movement radially with-respect to said member, a series of levers carried by said member and connected to the knife for controlling its movement, and means operable through said levers to project the knife by a comparatively quick movement, as it approaches the lower part of its orbit, into severing relation to a sheet carried by the table.

12. In a sheet cutting mechanism, the combination of a traveling table, a rotatable member supported above the path of the table, a knife guided for movement in a radial plane with respect to said member, a series of levers carried by said member and connected to the knife for controlling its movement, radial arms mounted directly on the ends of said rotatable member, abutments carried by the table and engageable with said radial arms for rotating said member in synchronism with the movement of the table, and stationary means cooperating with said levers, as they revolve with said member, to actuate the series of levers and thereby project said knife by a comparatively quick movement into severing relation to a sheet carried by the table.

13. In'a sheet cutting mechanism, the combination of a traveling table, a rotatable member supported above the path of the table, a knife carried by said member, a series of speed increasing levers carried by said member and connected to the knife for controlling its movement, radial arms mounted directly on the ends of said rotatable member, abutments carried by the table and engageable with said radial arms for intermittently rotating said member in synchronism with the travel of the table, and means operable through said levers to project said knife by a comparatively quickmovement, as it approaches the lower part of its orbit, into severing relation to a sheet carried by the table.

14. In a sheet cutting mechanism, the combination of a traveling table, a rotatable member supported above the path of the table, a knife carried by said member, a series of speed increasing levers carried by said member and connected to the knife for controlling its movement, radial arms mounted directly on the ends of said rotatable member, abutments carried by the table and engageable with said radial arms for intermittently rotating said member in synchronism with the travel bf said table, a stationary cam engageable by certain of said levers, as they revolve with said member, to actuate the series of levers and thereby project said knife by a comparatively quick movement into severin relation to a sheet carried by the table.

in testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name to this specification.

ARCHIE W. PLATT. 

